


Yachi And...

by lolcano



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life, Team Bonding, honestly that's pretty much it, yachi talks to people!, yachi's brain is a wild wild place
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-16 23:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13646391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lolcano/pseuds/lolcano
Summary: Yachi makes new friends! Each chapter focuses on her relationship with a different person in the Karasuno Volleyball Club.





	1. Yamaguchi!

Yachi could not help but think that the members of the Karasuno Volleyball Club were just a little bit scary.

As soon as they stepped into the court, these high school boys began to emanate an overwhelming aura of intensity. As soon as they stepped onto that court the sudden change in atmosphere sent a chill down Yachi’s spine. They become frightening, dangerous. Their eyes reflected a burning fire – the desire to win, to conquer, to devour. The way that they moved together, smoothly and forcefully, around the ball which floated like a cloud… It was scary, but also a little amazing.

To Yachi, it seemed as if these people inhabited a world entirely unlike her own. It was a world that she, who knew nothing about sports, was afraid she would never be able to enter. What was she to them? An ant! A worm! What business did a worm like herself have amidst the world of giants?!

“Haha, I wouldn’t put it quite like that,” said Kiyoko, when Yachi confided her fears to her senpai, “Besides, what’s that story about the mouse and lion? Even the smallest of animals are important.”

And then there was the line that Hinata had said: “Townsperson B is important too!” That’s right! She was just overthinking things again. She had to focus! There was no time for negative thinking! Everyone here was counting on her!

But this raised another problem. Even though she had agreed to be their manager, with the exception of Hinata and Kageyama, she didn’t really know any of the members at all. What kind of manager was she!? How was she supposed to support each and every member of the team when she barely even knew anything about them? What if they were travelling to a match in a foreign country and one of them suddenly fainted along the side of the road, and they had to call the ambulance and the doctor came and said, “He’s losing blood! He’s going to die if he doesn’t get a blood transfusion RIGHT NOW!” And then they’d ask her, the manager, what bloodtype he was. And… Yachi wouldn’t know!! All because of her negligence! People could die because of her!

So Yachi really wanted to get to try and get to know the rest of the team better.

Which brought her back to her first problem.

Some of these people…

…Were actually….

SUPER SCARY!!

Case in point: the entire gymnasium suddenly reverberated with the force of an enormously powerful spike. The ball had ricocheted off ground with such force that her heart was still reverberating along with the court. If that ball had hit her, she would have died!

Kiyoko had assured her multiple times that the scary goatee kid was actually a really nice guy but even so…. The thing was… there was absolutely no way around it… The fact of the matter was that he looked just like a serial killer! There was no way that he was a high school student! And she was PRETTY SURE she had heard rumours that he was a drug dealer, not to mention that…

Her mind trailed off as she realized what she was doing. WHEN WOULD SHE LEARN not judge people based on their appearances! When would she learn not to put stock in unfounded rumours about people she barely even knew?!

No, surely he was a very nice guy! She just had to get to know him a little better! But even so… Well,  the thing was, that no matter how nice a guy he may actually be, the thought of going up and talking to him filled Yachi with a deep and irrational fear. She just wasn’t ready. He was so big! Even if he  _was_  super nice, she felt if he just stepped the wrong way he might end up crushing her!

So maybe... maybe... it would be better if she waited a while before she tried talking to him. Maybe… she had to work her way up. Start with someone easier. Surely there must be someone here who was easier to talk to. For example, Hinata! But she already knew him. She needed to try talking to someone else! If she didn’t get out of her comfort zone, how would she ever get stronger? It was just like a video game! You had to train and level up. And in a video game, you never start with the final boss. First you started with easy enemies! Yes, that's the trick! She just had to find an easy target! Then she would DESTROY him! Utterly obliterate him! (Crush?! Obliterate?! That couldn't be right, was it?!)

She should probably use a different metaphor. Even so, the principle of the matter remained sound. She just needed to find someone who was a little less intimidating.

She scoured the Karasuno volleyball club, trying to find someone who looked a little bit less scary than the rest. The guy with the grey hair seemed like a nice guy, but then again, he was a third year. She thought it would be better to start with someone closer to her own age. Even the second-years were a bit too much. Yachi thought she would feel more comfortable talking to someone her own age.

Well, she already knew Hinata and Kageyama, which was good because Kageyama was actually pretty frightening if you didn’t know him. That just left two of them. And of course, the tall blond kid was also terrifying in his own special way, so that was out of the question. Guess that only left... 

She watched the freckled boy as he scrambled for the ball. “Ah, sorry,” he said, when it ended up going in the opposite direction. Hm…

And so, after practise, she took a deep breath, and before she could lose her courage entirely she marched right up to him!

“H-hi there!” she said, “Your name is Yamaguchi, right?”

He had been taking a mop out from the closet to clean up the gym, but he paused and looked up at her with surprise.

“Huh?” he said, “Oh, yes, that’s right! I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi, nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you!” said Yachi, “Um… you’re a first-year, right? What class are you in?”

“I’m, ah, in class 1-4.”

There was a pause as the two shy high-schoolers struggled to find something to say.

“Do you – “

“You’re –  “

They both began at once.

“Sorry! Go ahead…” said Yachi.

You’re… in class 1-5, right?” said Yamaguchi.

“Yeah.”

“Um… s-so,” said Yamaguchi, trying to find a topic common to the two of them, and settled for a topic which at the moment was not far from the mind of any student, “are you, uh…ready for exams?”

“I think so!” said Yachi, “Actually, I’m much less worried this year than I usually am. Seeing Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun working so hard to prepare… I’m honestly more worried for them!”

“I know what you mean! I wish I could help them study more, but as it is, I’m just barely passing myself.”

“Ah really? But I’m sure that you’re really smart! Isn’t class 1-4 college-prep?”

“Yes, but compared to everyone else in that class….”

“Don’t say that!” said Yachi, “Not only are you in class 1-4, but you also do club activities every day! That’s pretty impressive! In fact, I might have done well so far, but it’s only because I had lots of times to spare! Now, it may well be another story! Possibly, I may fail! Maybe I’ll even have to drop out of high school!”

“D-drop out of high school?!”

“So no matter what,” she said bravely, “don’t give up!”

“Please don’t make such a huge sacrifice on our behalf…!” exclaimed Yamaguchi.

“Um,” interrupted Kageyama, “Are you going to use that?” He pointed to the mop that Yamaguchi was still held in his hands.

“O-oh, right! Sorry!” He gave Kageyama the mop.

“Wooow,” said Hinata, “Way to kill the mood, Kageyama.”

“Huh?!” said Kageyama.  

Hinata just gave him a superior expression and proceeded to start mopping up the floor.

“Huh?!” said Kageyama again, watching as Hinata energetically ran across the court. 

Yachi and Yamaguchi watched with bemusement as Kageyama raced after Hinata and began furiously mopping the floor, probably thinking something like "How in the world did Hinata manage to get a head start on me?!" 

“They sure are lively…” said Yamaguchi. Neither of them was sure what to say or do next.

“Um… I guess I should go see if Kiyoko needs any help with anything…” said Yachi.

“Oh, right. Um… Well it was really nice talking to you!”

“Same here!”

She was about to leave when she remembered something.

“Oh right!” she said, turning back to Yamaguchi, “Yamaguchi, what’s your blood type?”

Yamaguchi looked confused, but he gave her his answer. 

“Got it!” called Yachi enthusiastically as she headed across the court. Her heart was beating super fast, but it felt good. She had done it! And it wasn't nearly so scary to talk to him as she had thought! She was so glad she had been able to make a new friend. 

Not to mention he definetely wouldn't bleed to death on her watch, she promised herself as she helped Kiyoko close up the gym for the night.

And you know what? He never did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!


	2. Kageyama!

 

Every day at lunch, Hinata and Kageyama would arrive at her class without fail. In fact, she had even begun to rely on it. So when Kageyama came one afternoon all by himself, Yachi was understandably a little bit surprised. In fact, Yachi was not sure she had _ever_ seen Kageyama without Hinata. What was going on here!?

Unaware of the surprise his solo appearance had generated, Kageyama simply bowed politely and sat down.

Yachi asked him if he knew where Hinata was. He shrugged.

This led Yachi to the only logical conclusion:

He’s dead!

Hinata was lying dead in a ditch right now!

He’s been beaten by gangsters! He’s been _kidnapped_ by gangsters! Kidnapped and sold into slavery! It’s a very real possibility! She had recently finished a book where that very thing had happened! Hinata was at this very moment languishing away in a small room in Laos where… No, Yachi couldn’t even think about it, it was too horrid! (But apparently orange hair was a hot commodity in South East Asian human trafficking circles).

“Do do you think…” said Yachi nervously, “Do you think he’s okay? What if he got sick? Or lost? Or murdered?”

“That’s fine,” said Kageyama. He opened his notebook and waited for Yachi to begin his lesson.

“Eh?” said Yachi. Was he not even worried? Were these two even friends?! What exactly was their relationship?!

She had always seen them together before, so she had assumed that they were friends, but… with this new evidence…

Well, there was only one possibility, that explained both this and why Hinata was not there.

The only possible explanation was that…

KAGEYAMA WAS THE MURDERER!! He had pretended to be Hinata’s friend but he actually hated him! And then! When everyone least suspected it! He STABBED HINATA IN THE BACK and disposed of the body was now here he was pretending that nothing was out of the usual!! And she was all alone with him!! First Hinata, and then her! She was going to DIIIIEEEEE!

NO, no, that couldn’t be right. Hitoka, you’re getting ahead of yourself, she said to herself. Kageyama is a good person! Sure, he was quiet and a little brusque sometimes but that doesn’t make you a murderer!

But then WHERE WAS HINATA?!

Her face obviously broadcasted her distress, because even Kageyama was able to pick up on it. Perhaps worried for her sanity, he went so far out of character to add that he had seen Hinata just that morning and so he was most likely perfectly fine.

“He’s probably just late,” he said, “The dumbass.”

“Right!” said Yachi, laughing with relief, “Yes, that makes _much_ more sense! Obviously, you didn’t kill him! And obviously he’s not been kidnapped by gangsters, or bitten by a radioactive spider and is now out fighting crime as a result of his secret double life!”

Kageyama stared at her.

“SHALL WE START STUDYING?!” she blurted. She slammed open her book and began babbling about the proper grammar of English conditional statements.

As the two of them fell back into their usual routine, Yachi finally began to relax.

Hinata was probably fine. Maybe he had to do some cleaning after class, or had to help his teacher carry books down to their office, or something like that. There was no need to worry about him.

She sighed in relief and slid down at her desk. In front of her, Kageyama was struggling with a vocabulary worksheet that she had prepared. As she watched, she suddenly realized that neither of them were talking. Up until this point, Hinata had always been there to reliably fill any awkward silences with his friendly babble. But Kageyama wasn’t saying anything. It was quiet. Too quiet?!

Oh no!!! she thought, what should she say? What should she do?! In fact, when she really thought about it, she didn’t really know Kageyama that well in the first place. Although she might go so far to say that Hinata was a friend, that would make Kageyama just a ‘friend of a friend’. Although he hung out with her because of Hinata, it might well be the case that in fact, he didn’t really like her!? Which was understandable because if Yachi had to hang out with herself all the time maybe she wouldn’t like her either!  But surely she wasn’t just imagining this awkwardness, was she? This stilted lull in the conversation?!

The silence stretched on. Hinata wasn’t here, and Kageyama did not seem very inclined to begin a conversation, so… that meant it was up to her. She had to do it! For the sake of the team!

But… what was she supposed to talk about?! Had she ever had a single conversation with Kageyama before? In fact, wasn’t this the first time she had ever been alone with him?! (She _really_ hoped he wasn’t a murderer). Her heart thudded nervously in her chest. Say something, say something. But what?!

“A-ah, Kageyama-kun,” she began nervously, “you sure like volleyball, don’t you?”

“…Yes,” said Kageyama, chewing the end of his pencils as he concentrated intently on the worksheet.

Idiot! Of course he liked volleyball! Why else would he be in the volleyball club! What was she even saying! But what else was she supposed to talk about?!?! Did Kageyama even _have_ any interests outside of volleyball?!

“H-hey, Kageyama-kun… D-do you have any hobbies?”

He stared at her oddly for a while, then said, “Yes.”

“O-oh really? Like what?”

“Volleyball.”

“I mean, um, besides that…?”

“Not really.”

“I see…”

Yachi sweated nervously.

That was it. She had exhausted her entire repertoire of conversation topics, and lunch had only just begun. Where in the world was Hinata? He would know what to do in this situation. She just wasn’t cut out for this line of work.

Kageyama finished the worksheet and handed it to Yachi to look over.

“Er…” she said, trying to hold back her pain as she looked at the plethora of mistakes.

“Very good effort!” she said, trying to remain positive, “But uh… maybe we should review this once more.”

Kageyama nodded earnestly.

“Okay,” said Yachi, “so you remember the three different types of English conditional statements?”

“Um…” said Kageyama, “The first type is… something that is possible….”

Yachi waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.

“That’s right! And the second is hypothetical situation with a probable result and the third…”

But Kageyama had already blanked out by the time she had said “hypothetical”

“Okay, so in Japanese, an example of this kind of statement would be, “ _If_ I won the lottery, _then_ I would buy a car.” This is something hypothetical because you probably won’t win the lottery, whereas the first case deals with something that you expect to happen, like…”

She tried to think of an example that Kageyama could understand.

“Ah, how about this… ‘If we practise a lot, then we will go to Nationals.’ In this case, it’s a probable event and so we use the English future tense in the second clause. And in the hypothetical case, we use the word ‘would’. Got it?”

“Of course,” said Kageyama, “We’ll be the ones going to Nationals.”

“Er well that’s not exactly what I meant…”

Yachi decided she better start from the top. She explained the process once more and Kageyama re-applied himself to the worksheet. He worked silently, an expression of intense concentration on his face. Just like Hinata, Yachi thought, looking at his intense expression, he really was giving it his all. Even though English (evidently) was not his best subject, but was calmly and bravely applying himself to his work. He too, was a pretty amazing person….

This time, Yachi did not even notice until Kageyama handed her back the sheet that during this entire time they had not spoken. In fact, it was not until Hinata arrived that she realized that they had fallen into a comfortable silence that was suddenly interrupted by the whirlwind that was Hinata.

“I’M SO SORRY YACHI!” he cried as soon as he walked through the door of her class, causing everybody to turn and look.

“I had to go pick up some papers from the office for my teacher,” he babbled,  “but I ended up dropping them, and then you wouldn’t BELIEVE what happened next because then I went to the bathroom and – “

“Hinata you idiot!” Kageyama interrupted, “You can’t even receive papers properly? Let alone a volleyball? Yachi-san was worried because of you!”

“Eehh?! Really!? I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine,” she tried to tell him, but the two of them were already arguing and could not be stopped. Yachi could do nothing but sit back and laugh. Ah, these two!

She was so happy she had met them!


	3. Tsukkishima!

Final exams were only a few days away, and a black cloud of foreboding hung over the school. Students shuffled through the halls murmuring trigonomic identities over and over as it if were some kind of incantation, others desperately shuffled through notes, and others had given up entirely and lay with their head on their desks, their notes spread out before them, as if hoping to learn through osmosis.

Amidst this carnage, Yachi was just heading back to class in order to give Hinata and Kageyama another lesson when she ran into Yamaguchi.

“Hi Yachi!” he said, and they ended up chatting for a bit.

“Would you like to come study with us?” Yachi offered, “We could definitely use your help.”

“More like I could use your help, probably…,” laughed Yamaguchi, “But sure! I’ll just go tell Tsukki.”

He headed back to his classroom, and in an instant was back.

“Alright, let’s go!”

“You and Tsukkishima-kun are pretty close huh…” Yachi commented as they walked.

“Yeah,” said Yamaguchi, “We’ve been friends since grade school.”

“It must be nice, having a childhood friend. But you know, you and Tsukkishima-kun seem very different so if I had met you first, I don’t think I would have guessed that you two would be friends.”

“Sometimes I feel the same way,” laughed Yamaguchi, “After all, Tsukki’s much cooler than me so…”

“Eh?! Don’t discount your own coolness either! You are both pretty cool! After all, it’s easy to talk to you. But I still don’t know what to say to Tsukkishima-kun… “

Even after all this time she found him a little bit frightening.

“That’s just the way he is,” Yamaguchi explained, “It takes him a long time to get to know people.”

“Is that so…” said Yachi, as they finally arrived in the classroom.

“Yamaguchi!” cried Hinata, who was already there, “You’ve come to help us!”

“Er well, I also need to work on my English so I’ll be working hard just like you…”

“Alright!!” shouted Hinata, jumping enthusiastically into the air, “Then let’s do our best! Yeaaaaah!”

What a lot of energy! Yachi was always amazed at his enthusiasm. Well, if he could apply himself like that, then she could too!

“Alright!” she shouted too, “Let’s do this!”

They studied hard for the rest of lunch, but when practise came around, Hinata was still full of energy.

“All right! Let’s go!” he said, leaping into the air, “Kageyama! Toss to me!”

Even after practise, he was still full of energy.

“Let’s go to Sakanoshita and get some food!”

“That sounds troublesome, so let’s not,” said Tsukkishima.

Although Yachi would not dare say it out loud, this is rather what she thought as well. She couldn’t believe that Hinata had so much energy after everything that he had done that day! She thought that it would be better if she just went directly home.

She said goodbye to everyone and headed out, at the same time, as it happened, as Yamaguchi and Tsukkishima.

“Are you headed to the station?” asked Tsukki.

“A-ah, yes!” said Yachi.

“Let’s go then,” he said.

Yachi stared at him. “Right!” she said.

They headed down the hill towards the train station. “Where do you live, Yachi?” asked Yamaguchi. It was already dark out. Behind them, they heard merry voices as the rest of the team headed off to the store.

“I get off at Y* station. It’s actually pretty close to Shiratorizawa.”

“Ah, we get off a bit before you then.”

They walked through the dark streets. The evening air was crisp and cool. Pale light pooled in sidewalks beneath the streetlamps, and as they passed through, the three high schoolers cast elongated shadows across the road. At night, even the most familiar things can look strange.

The wind blew, and for a moment the clouds shifted and Yachi could see the faint form of the crescent moon, waxing in the star-speckled sky.

Tsukkishima and Yamaguchi began discussing something that had happened during class. Yachi was a little bit surprised to hear Tsukkishima talking so much. She had never heard him speak this much before! During practise he seemed rather withdrawn, and during lunch he kept to himself and just listened to his music. He had never really struck her as a talkative type, but here he was, chattering away. Well, chattering was a bit of an overstatement. More like actually speaking.

Yachi wondered if she should join the conversation. Would that be rude? The way they talked seemed very familiar, and maybe it wasn’t right for an outsider to butt into it.

She was thinking about how lucky they were to have someone so close to talk to, when Yamaguchi asked her a question.

“Eh?” she asked.

“Oh, I was just asking if you had to do that chemistry lab in your class too?”

“Yes! We did!”

“It didn’t work out very well for me…” said Yamaguchi, “I don’t know why.”

“You have to turn the dial very carefully,” said Tsukki, “It’s pretty sensitive.”

“It’s true,” said Yachi, “I don’t think any of us in our class were able to get the proper measurement exactly.”

“Do you like chemistry Yachi?” asked Yamaguchi, “Tsukki’s really good at chemistry!”

“Er well, I like it, but out of all the sciences I think that it’s my least favourite… Science is not my best subject… Ah, but I do enjoy it though!”

”Tsukki’s great at science!”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi…”

“Ah, that’s great! I think science is pretty useful, so I admire people who are very good at it.”

“Useful? Ah, I see!,” said Yamaguchi, “If for example you are in a volleyball match and you want to calculate the velocity of the ball…! You would have to use phsyics!”

“I think before you would be able to calculate all that, the ball would in fact rather hit you in the face.” said Tsukki.

“Hmm… That’s true… Ah, Tsukki, you’re so smart!”

“Actually, I thought about physics a lot when I was still thinking about whether to become the manager,” said Yachi, “In particular, the theory of inertia. I thought, ‘If I don’t start becoming a useful person, then I’m never going to become one.’ But now that I’ve begun, it’s becoming easier and easier!”

“Wow, physics really _is_ useful!”

They continued talking about science until they reached the corner of the street. Then Yamaguchi paused.

“Ah, sorry…” he said apologetically, “I should have mentioned this earlier but… I’m stopping here. I’m going to go to Shimada mart to practise my serves. I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

“Alright,” said Tsukkishima.

Yachi waved goodbye.

Now she was all alone with Tsukkishima. Walking alone… in the dark… with a strange guy…. No, Hitoka! She told herself sternly, Don’t think about such things!

“So, uh Tsukkishima-kun!” she said a little tensely, “Um… what made you decide to start playing volleyball?”

“…No particular reason.”

He sounded annoyed! This was a bad topic of conversation! She had chosen poorly once again! Out of all the conversation starters she could have picked, OF COURSE she would happen to pick the clearly sensitive one! Did she have no tact at all?! It was bringing up bad memories! He was having a flashback! Right now! PTSD! He had decided to play volleyball after his beloved aunt, who was an Olympic volleyball player, suddenly died of cancer. On her death bed, she had said to him, her beloved nephew, “Please, Kei-chan, please play volleyball in my memory!”  “But I don’t want to!” said the child Tsukkishima, putting on his headphones, “My real dream is to become a famous grunge musician. “No, you must!” cried his aunt, “You must carry on the Tsukkishima name!” And then she died. And so now whenever he played volleyball, he thought of his dear aunt, who had meant so much to him, who had been taken too soon….

“Oh, Auntie…” sniffled Yachi. You may be gone now, but you’ll never be forgotten.

“Hm?” asked Tsukkishima.

“N-nothing!” said Yachi, her vision of Tsukkishima’s tragic past vanishing nearly as quickly as it had appeared.

Silence reigned once more. Tap tap tap. The sound of their footsteps against the silent dark earth. At last, they made it to the train station.

“I’ll be getting of at M* station,” said Tsukkishima.

“Okay.”

What else could she talk about? School? They’d already exhausted all those topics with Yamaguchi. Volleyball? Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about that. But what else did they have in common? That was literally it! No no, Hitoka, she told herself, you can’t give up now. Reach further! Further! Maybe music?! Yes, music! He was always listening to those headphones of his, he must really enjoy music! This was a highly promising avenue of conversation!

She was about to open her mouth and make some inane comment about music when she paused. Tsukkishima was looking out the window the train, deep, it appeared, in thought.

What could he be thinking about? she wondered, then she thought, What in the world am _I_ thinking about, anyway?

What was she so worried about? Was she being paid to make conversation? Why did she have to say anything at all? It was the same thing with Kageyama, all over again.

She was beginning to realize something, after meeting so many new people. She had learned a lot, in the past few weeks. Sometimes you didn’t always have to talk. Sometimes, to be a manager, you didn’t have to be an expert in volleyball. You just had to show up. And maybe it was the same for friendship. You don’t always have to talk. You just have to be there.

Friendship, like volleyball, comes gradually.

The train glided smoothly over its tracks. Outside it was dark, dark, pitch black, the only light in the world coming from the train. It was as if the world outside did not exist, there was only this train, with its blue empty seats, and tired looking commuters, drowned in pale, artificial light, gliding off as if to nowhere. A ride on the galactic express. And Tsukkishima sat next to her, listening quietly to unheard music. They sat there quietly together.

The train slowly slowed down, iron against iron screeched as it ground to a halt.

“Here’s my stop,” said Tsukkishima.

“Farewell!” said Yachi.

“Right…,” said Tsukkishima, “Farewell.”

And they parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review! The next chapter may take a long time to come out...


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